Results 41-60 of 8,947 for speaker:Jim O'Callaghan

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: As that is the last section, may I identify some provisions I may bring forward on Report Stage?

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I wish to indicate to the House that I intend to bring forward some further amendments, about some of which we are not yet clear as to the exact placing within the Bill. Those amendments will include an amendment to provide for clearer and simpler defence of fair and reasonable publication in the public interest, which is particularly important to protect responsible public interest...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I might respond formally to Deputy Gannon's amendments. I understand the purpose of amendment No. 3 would be to delete the reference to "manifestly unfounded" contained in section 34E of the proposed Part 4A. Section 34E transposes Article 11 of the directive under which a court may strike out proceedings that have been initiated against a person on account of their engagement in public...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I move amendment No. 6: In page 16, lines 10 to 12, to delete all words from and including “under” in line 10 down to and including line 12 and substitute “to which Schedule 2 refers, or”. This group of amendments makes changes to section 18 of the Bill, which concerns alternatives to legal proceedings. Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 make minor drafting changes to...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: This section proposes an amendment to section 17 of the Defamation Act. That section sets out what is protected by the defence of absolute privilege. For instance, any statement made in this House is absolutely privileged. No matter what Deputy Carthy were to say about me, even if it were grossly defamatory, if I issued proceedings against him he would get the proceedings struck out on the...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Maybe he is on his way.

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I commend Deputy Carthy on managing to talk on to allow Deputy Gannon to get time to come here. I share his objective that we ensure that better protections are provided for those who are targeted by SLAPPs. Fortunately, however, in Ireland we do not experience SLAPPs in the same way as I think other, more populous jurisdictions have experienced them in recent years. Notwithstanding...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I certainly will give more detailed consideration to it in light of what the Deputy said. Dealing with the two examples the Deputy gave, the local shop in most situations, I would have thought, is not a corporate entity but is just owned by the local people. Let us assume that it is a corporate entity and they decided to run the shop under the auspices of a company. Let us say somebody...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank the Deputy for the contribution. In a situation like that, if an individual was very associated with a company, the individual could take an action in their own name on the basis that they have been defamed because an entity with which they are very clearly associated, and it is known to the public that they are associated, has been defamed. In that instance, an individual could...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I will be brief. Section 5 is consequential upon what happened to section 4. We voted to retain section 4. I note the opposition of Deputies Gannon and Carthy to section 5, but the fact that section 4 has been approved by the House means that section 5 should stay. I am retaining this section.

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: One of the issues that was considered by the Department was whether we would include in the legislation a serious harm test as at present applies in England and Wales. It was decided that it would not be introduced or proposed in respect of personal plaintiffs, people who claim that they were defamed. The reason it was not proposed to look for a serious harm test is that the experience in...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am not looking around for entities that are supportive of this but there clearly are. Deputy Sherlock previously mentioned ISME. I suspect ISME is important but they are not the guiding people. I do not look for outside bodies to dictate to me as to what I should or should not do in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Ultimately, it was in the Fianna Fáil manifesto, it is part of the...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank Deputies for their contributions. I will try to deal with the issues they raised. Deputy Carthy spoke about the definition of "periodical" in section 3. I am happy to give consideration to an amendment, if the Deputy tables it on Report Stage, which he has indicated he will do. At present, however, I am not fully aware of the detail of what he proposed but, as I said, I will...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Is that the definition of "periodical"?

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: Similarly, there are many great advantages to being a member of a political party but there are also disadvantages, as I am sure the other Deputies here will acknowledge. One of the consequences of membership of a political party is the need for compromise. There has been a general election since the Second Stage debate. Fianna Fáil put forward a manifesto, which I supported. It...

Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank colleagues for their contributions, to which I will respond to presently. This is the first opportunity I have had since I was appointed as Minister for Justice to speak on the Defamation (Amendment) Bill. I was not, as is apparent, Minister for Justice when the House debated Second Stage. It is important that I, as Minister, acknowledge the difficult role the Oireachtas is...

EU Regulations: Motion (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following...

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for bringing forward the Bill. It is the second time during her tenure as a Senator in this term that she has raised the issue of retail crime with me. I discussed the issue with her on a previous occasion a number of weeks ago. I also want to commend and acknowledge the other Senators who have spoken. This is the second time I have been before this House in...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service continually monitors the staffing requirements of, and vacancies that arise in, the organisation. The Irish Prison Service routinely reviews the resource requirement across the estate based on the prisoner cohort and the expanding prison population. The staff requirement has increased to meet demand on the service. Recruitment...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Service (30 Apr 2025)

Jim O'Callaghan: I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that the average annual cost of an available, staffed prison space during the calendar year 2024 was €99,072. This includes net expenditure incurred within the year (such as salaries, utilities/ maintenance, ICT, prison services, etc.) excluding capital expenditure on buildings, ICT and vehicle purchases. Further, I have...